1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing alcohols and ethers from hydrocarbons which are gaseous under normal conditions, e.g., such as those occurring during crude oil production or refining. Collecting, purifying and transporting these paraffin hydrocarbons is very difficult and costly, and as a result even frequently rather large volumes of gas are flared. The present invention, therefore, pertains to converting, on the spot, these gaseous, light hydrocarbons formed during petroleum refining into valuable products whose long distance transport presents fewer difficulties than transporting the gaseous hydrocarbons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known from German OS Nos. 26 20 011 and 29 21 576 to convert butane into methyl tert-butyl ether. In this process n-butane is partially or completely isomerized into isobutane (2-methylpropane) and the n-butane-isobutane mixture is dehydrogenated thus forming n-butenes in addition to isobutene. The dehydrogenation reaction mixture is then etherified with excess methyl alcohol, whereby the isobutene formed in the dehydrogenation step is converted into methyl tert-butyl ether. The excess methyl alcohol from the etherification reaction mixture is removed either with water or by azeotropic distillation.